Saturday, December 01, 2012

Something I wanted to share on my blog long ago is actually more eyeshadow application techniques for the Asian eye. :)

I'm afraid the photos can't capture the vibrancy of the colours so bear with me. :( I added illustrations for better explanation. (Doing these illustrations remind me of my Home Economics assignment. I had to draw something but I sucked at drawing so I did something special just to score points. :) haha. )

Anyway this is the 3D eyeshaodw technique I learnt from watching one of those Taiwanese beauty shows.

I used SilkyGirl's Blockbuster palette in Smokey Charm that I blogged about previously. The eyeshadows are on the colourful side but yet wearable. All 3 shades come with a sheen finish except for the grey which seems more matte to me. For swatches of the palette, please refer here.

1. Apply the navy blue shade at the inner corner and other corner of the eyelid, leaving space in the middle.

2. Next, take the light yellowish gold shade to highlight under the browbone. Also apply at the lower inner corner to brighten the eyes. Then apply the shade in the middle of the eyelid area to create dimension. Blend the edges that the gold and the navy overlap.

3. Take the matte grey shade and blend along the outer socket line (along orbital bone) to create depth.

4. Line the hot pink shade all along the lower eyelid area. Then take the navy blue shade to line halfway starting from the middle to the outer corner of the lower lid. The 2 shades blend to create a lovely purple.

So here's the look. It probably looks incomplete/messy/sloppy and I know my eye doesn't look healthy at the moment. :\ You can then do your eyeliner, mascara whatever you need to make it complete.

Some tips to add on:
To make the eyes look more dimensional, you can replace the light gold shade with a shimmery shade or find a extra shimmery eyeshadow to add on in the middle of your eyelid. What happens is when you close your eyelids, the shimmery shade will really make the middle of your eyes protrude when the light hits on them, giving the illusion of dimension.

My thoughts:
I actually loved the palette after this. I really love the pink and navy blue shade blend to form a nice shade of purple. It's like a nice bonus shade. I just love how wearable it is even for daytime looks.

As for the 3D technique, I like how the placement of gold in between the navy blue brings light to my eyes. I love navy blue shade but can't really pull it off alone as sometimes, I feel it makes my eyes look tired. So this's actually a nice method to cheat and pull off the colour that you can't wear.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

To be honest, I have posts I've been wanting to post piling up. But... sometimes you just don't feel like doing so. I wanted to do reviews super badly but I get really long-winded until I don't feel like writing anymore. Hauls are easier to do but after doing them, I feel like a terrible hoarder.

Awkward.

So anyway I'm back today. I just can't sleep. Might as well right.
Just a quick October haul.

Picked up 2 SilkyGirl Blockbuster Color Palettes in Bare Classics and Smokey Charm when Watsons was selling these for half off. ^.^ Had wanted this long ago but I was never willing to pay full price for this. Patience paid off. Yay! Bare Classics is just a great everyday neutral quad to have. Absolutely love the colours in Smokey Charm which is a really pretty colourful quad. Might even post an eyeshadow tutorial later...a sloppy one though.

Picked up another Revlon Colorstay Eyeliner in Blackberry too. I owned the brown one and it's my favourite everyday go-to eyeliner. Blackberry is a deep plum shade when swatched on the hand. But on my brown eyes, it just ended up looking blackish brown. Wished I had picked up the navy shade instead.

And picked up some skincare/haircare I really needed.
I ran out of my favourite products for fighting acne - Thursday Plantation Tea Tree Oil and Nixoderm Ointment Cream . Had to stock up on this.

For haircare, I ran out of hair treatment product. Previously I was using L'oreal Elvive Smooth-Intense Smoothing Masque which I do like for keeping my hair frizz-free but I wanted to try something new. Picked up Essential Ultra Honey & Shea Butter Intensive Hair Mask, which bubzbeauty (youtube) raved about in an older video. It smells really heavenly, with a sweet honey scent and my hair does feel smoother with this. :)

And I've also been looking for a night cream for a long while so I also bought Sukin Moisture Restoring Night Cream, when I found it selling for half off at Watsons. Super happy with this purchase as the cream works really well for me and I love the scent of it. It has a citrusy vanilla scent similar to Sukin Protein Shampoo (which I need to do a review for it soon) and I love using that shampoo just because of the scent. It keeps me happy. The cream is rich yet not super thick and my skin absorbs it relatively fast. But some might not like it as it has alcohol content. Perhaps I am going a review for this one... :)

Monday, July 30, 2012

Actually I was most excited about this since I do not own any "branded" nail polishes. (Revlon doesn't count). In the past, I've always wanted to try OPI, China Glaze, Essie nail polishes due to all the raves but you can only get those by ordering through online sprees. Whenever I wanted to place an order, I would take forever to decide on colours and by the time I was done and ready to order, the spree had closed. So now, I can take my time to order instead. Definitely less stressful.

I didn't want to turn into a nail polish fanatic who buys nail polishes in every colour. Thought it would be better to buy colours which are less glaring and be great for daily wear.

Left to right: Electric Beat, Sweet Hook, Gothic Lolita

Picked up Sweet Hook (pinkish lilac), Electric Beat (muted blue), Gothic Lolita (purple with blue duochrome). Absolutely love Sweet Hook. It was not the shade of pastel purple I wanted but it turned up to be so pretty nevertheless (it's brighter and pinker than in picture). I can't stop wearing it. I haven't tried the rest but love the other two too. Electric Beat is this neutral muted blue. I think it's great if you really don't like glaring nail polish staring back at you whenever you look at your fingers. As for Gothic Lolita, I picked up only because I am obsessed with purple, especially purples with blue duochrome in it. Since I love purple, I guess I don't mind adding it in my collection.

So far the China Glaze nail polishes have lasted pretty well on my nails even without a top coat. Definitely will be getting more colours.

You can get China Glaze nail polishes from Sephora Singapore and certain Watsons for around SGD$18. I bought these for around SGD$7 from this Qoo10 seller when there was special promotion ongoing.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Read some good reviews about it so I was very keen to try since it's not easy finding great undereye cream concealer.

The concealer comes in a small jar with a screw top. Was very surprised when I tested it out as it is very very creamy and glides beautifully.

Did a quick swatch. The shade is quite yellow and seems able to conceal the green veins showing at the back of my hand.

Going to test it out longer and probably do a full review for it.

Got the Missha concealer for SGD $5.90 from this Gmarket seller who sent me 2 samples too (which I forgot to include inside photos). You can also consider getting it from this seller who's currently selling it cheaper.

Monday, June 04, 2012

Posting my random haul. I try not to do impulse buys when I'm out in the drugstore but I had a voucher to use up :D *EXCUSES mode*

Anyways, missed the recent Watsons cardmembers' sale but... luckily I decided to drop by the following day. They actually still have some leftover makeup sets they usually bundle up to sell during cardmember sale. I usually try to grab those whenever I'm at Watsons sale because they offer the best deals (of course, take note sometimes the items they are trying to clear off have short shelf life).

From top to bottom: Kate Gel Eyeshadow in PU-1, Kate Lasting Color Eyes in BU-1

Got the above set for $20. Love this set. Very impressed with the eyeshadow quad and the stick shadow. The gel eyeshadow has a bouncy mousse texture, which is fun to play with but pigmentation is lacking.

Dropped by John Little to pick up some Canmake since I realised I have not bought anything from them for a super long time. It's funny how when you have a voucher to use up, you don't really know what to use it on. Do you feel the same? I had a hard time choosing since the item I want (Cheek Gradation :(. Let me know if it's still being sold) seems discontinued. Picked up Canmake Powder Cheek in PW23 Peach Pink and Canmake Lip Concealer in 01. I kind of regret getting the lip concealer. Read some reviews after buying but still went ahead to try it on, and indeed it seems to accentuate lines on my lips.

But I like the blush. It's just a simple peachy shade, I guess. I'm not loving that most of Canmake blushes seem to have a lot of glitters.

Canmake Powder Cheek in PW23 Peach Pink

And can I add a rant?

I really hate how the Canmake display in John Little requires you to bend or even kneel to get to the products, especially those in the lower shelves.

Picture from Google

It's probably this that deters me from checking out Canmake products whenever I drop by John Little.

Monday, May 28, 2012

Seller stated that it is an authentic Zara piece that is factory overrun. I am actually very skeptical about all the branded pieces selling in Gmarket (or in general, any online selling platform). As the Zara tag looks a bit flimsy, I don't really think this is authentic. Nevertheless, I still like this piece a lot and feel it's worth paying $30 for. The lace detail is amazing.

Lace detail at the top

Lace detail at the bottom (not stuck together with lining)

I've been wanting a lace overlay dress for months so this is perfect. The top half is fitted while the bottom half is more of a flouncy skirt with the lace draping over a opaque cotton poofy skirt that acts as the lining. You get a ribbon to tie around the waist too. It is exactly the same as the first picture. There's also a zipper at the back which ends at the waist. I had no problem with the size I ordered but if you have broader shoulders, maybe you want to order a size up since most of the girls (you can read reviews on the site) say that the zipper makes it harder for them to get out of the dress.

Overall, although I feel it doesn't feel like an authentic Zara piece, I love how elegant the dress looks. It's a well-made dress for the price I paid. Highly recommend it so grab it fast. I'm actually thinking of getting it in the other colour. :)

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Gmarket Singapore is now known as Qoo10 instead. I have a hard time getting used to it. :\

So previously I was sharing that I wanted to order some apparels from Gmarket Korea. But I found the same listing in Gmarket Singapore. It saved me a headache from ordering from the korean site and worrying about expensive shipping fees.

Here's the top I wanted.

I wanted it in Ivory but by the time I ordered, I was informed it was out of stock. So lucky me that I didn't get it off the Korean site.

I ordered it in Mustard instead. And then another top. And then another. I ended up ordering a lot.

So here's my partial collective haul. I love chiffon tops a lot and I can't seem to find them easily so I ordered more. Also got 2 denim tops since I love the polka dots and prints on it. Super cute.

Please excuse the colour differences due to lightings as I was in a rush. The top I wanted is called BL-50/Blair and I love the mustard shade. Piece is very feminine and versatile for matching.

I love the other pieces I got from the seller too. So far, everything fits nicely. The chiffon pieces fit me ( UK 8/10) perfectly. The denim pieces are a little bigger and box cut. Might be too big for slimmer figures. I like the chiffon pieces a little more since they fit me better. All these pieces come with a hanger and a plastic cover to prevent them from getting hooked and scratched when I received the items. How awesome is that.

The tops are also very affordable. I managed to get some of these at SGD$10-15 each. Would definitely recommend the seller.

Shipping is by Eurasia, which is like a courier company which delivers to your doorstep. The tricky part is they'll only call you on the day they are going to deliver. Sometimes I don't even get a call. You can track the package from the Gmarket site but it's quite useless. Eurasia doesn't have a website for you to track packages but there is a phone number you can contact them at. So far, I've been lucky and they delivered to me during the weekends when someone was home. (I ordered so much until I can predict when they are coming. >.< ) It takes about one week for me to receive the items.

I just ordered more from the seller since he/she added new sleeveless designs which I love.

Seller was generous enough to give 3 samples - a Skin79 Super Plus Hot Pink BB Cream sample, a Skin79 Super Plus Gold BB Cream sample and a Skin79 BB Cleanser sample. When I ordered, I thought I was only going to get 2, but the additional cleanser sample surprised me. :)

New Skin79 Orange Vital BB Cream vs Old Skin79 Gold BB Cream

The orange bb cream is still 40g but I actually found out that it seems a little shorter than my older Skin79 Super Plus Gold BB Cream purchased more than a year ago from Gmarket too. I started wondering if my older gold BB cream is a fake (which is unlikely since I did a thorough check on my gold bb cream before using it and it seems authentic). Did some research and they seem to have revamped it into a smaller size. The difference in height is not much but thought I'll mention it. The new packaging is actually better because the bb cream comes with a product authenticity label at the back.

Swatched this on the back of my hand and it's really yellow. That's the reason I wanted it, simply because it's not grey toned bb cream but yellow. Hehe. Tested the product on my face and it blends well and helps to brighten up the face. Although it's a yellow based shade, I think light skinned girls would still find it to be too fair for them. Perhaps it's the SPF 50 that causes the skin to look overly light. Fair skinned girls would love this I suppose. I probably need to try this longer and play around with it before I can decide whether I love it.

Got the Skin79 bb cream from this Gmarket seller, who sells the full range of Skin79 products, for less than SGD$20. (Use the Gmarket coupons! :) ) Seller ships the items from South Korea to countries outside Singapore, like Malaysia, Indonesia and Japan too.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

I've been obsessed with Gmarket Singapore lately. I had originally planned to order stuff (bags and apparels) from Gmarket Korea instead. I was in a mess, trying to figure out Gmarket Korea's site since everything was in Korean. Before I ordered, I dropped by Gmarket Singapore's site and actually found the exact listing with the same bags and apparels and they were having some form of sale. xD Decided to cancel the plan and just order from Gmarket Singapore directly. I've been hooked onto the site since then.

I really wanted either a white or beige pink eyeliner for brightening my lower lashline so I bought this Holika Holika Jewel-light Waterproof Eyeliner in 08 Pink Topaz. They also have a white one for lining the lower lashline but I was really drawn to the pink.

Picture from Gmarket

Received my eyeliner in about a week, along with 2 Etude House Fresh Cherry Tint samples in 1 Red and 2 Pink. :D

The Holika Holika Jewel-light Waterproof Eyeliner is actually soft and glides on skin beautifully. It is light pink with many tiny sparkly glitters in it. The top swatch shows the base colour is close to my skintone. To be honest, I can't really tell whether the base colour is a straight pink or slightly peachy pink shade since there's so much glitters. The bottom swatch shows the glittery effect when light hits the eyeliner. The tiny glitters sparkles like diamonds. On the hand, the eyeliner rubs off easily if you rub immediately but it doesn't budge once it sets. But I probably need to test it longer to see if it's really waterproof or whether it smudges on oily eyelids.

I used this on my lower lash line and inner corners and really love how my eyes look after it. It really makes my eyes look much brighter like the first picture. Love it. Would totally recommend this since it's cheap and mad gorgeous.

Bought this eyeliner for around SGD$5 from this Gmarket seller in an older listing. I snatched up the last few remaining eyeliners in the previous listing when there's a further slash of price so that's probably why it's gone. lol. You can also get it from this other Gmarket seller.

Colours:
They have a good variety of colours to choose from. I find the colours to be pigmented, especially those from the Summer 2010 collection (Coral Reef, Peach Petal).

Here's what I own:Coral Reef: A really bright, neonish-looking coral. I love how bright this is. It's a lovely shade if you like bright bold colours.Peach Petal: A milky pale nude peach. This shade is really pale so it can make you look dead. But you can layer over other lip sticks or mix with other lip glosses to lighten the initial colour.Nude Lustre: A neutral beige peach or maybe pink. It's kind of hard to describe such a neutral colour. But it's my MLBB colour. I think this would suit most people.Pink Pursuit: A slightly sheer medium pink with subtle silver shimmers and glitters. The colour doesn't really appear on my pigmented lips. I'm not fond of Pink Pursuit because this particular formula stings my lips whenever I apply it. I think it's probably due to the glitters. :(

Price:
These retail for SGD$19.90 in Singapore. You can get them for US$6.99 from online stores like Drugstore.com.

Overall Thoughts:
I actually think Revlon makes the best drugstore lip glosses. I really like these Revlon Super Lustrous Lip Glosses a lot. They are my current favourites and I would highly recommend them if you like non-sticky lip glosses. I just wish they'll release more colours in Singapore.

A quick review. These palettes are indeed gorgeous. The eyeshadows are really lovely. The shimmery shades are very pigmented and smooth but I find the matte shades lack in pigmentation. I also find these eyeshadows to be quite powdery too so it gets a little messy around the palette.

And I got Sleek blush in Suede and Life's a Peach.

From left to right: Sleek Blush in Suede and Life's a Peach

From left to right: Sleek Blush in Suede and Life's a Peach

From left to right: Sleek Blush in Suede and Life's a Peach

These blushes look big here but they are actually quite small. I would say they are packed very compactly and a good size for bringing along for travelling. Suede is a tawny peachy brown shade while Life's a Peach is a apricot colour (yes I finally learnt that it should be described as apricot blush instead of orange). I haven't tried both yet but if I had to recommend, I would pick Suede because it's a more unique shade. It also has a lot of rave reviews that it goes on like a natural flush so that's why I got it.

Overall, I really like the items I got. I think they are of good value for the quality of product.

Saturday, March 03, 2012

A while back, I was wondering whether there is any cheap (inexpensive) makeup selling in Singapore. I did a little bit of research and of course Daiso was one of the brands mentioned.

For $2, you can get these Daiso blushes Ellefar Multi Cheeks. They are packaged really nicely and in fact, look similar to Canmake Cheek Gradationblushes.

I picked up Ellefar Multi Cheeks in Orange and Beige. I was really drawn to Beige in the box as it's a super pretty peachy pink shade.

From left to right: Ellefar Multi Cheeks in Orange and Beige

Orange is a burnt orange shade which is a little too dark for me but I think it will look nice on slightly medium tanned skin. Beige is this peachy pink shade, which should be flattering on most skintones. When swatched, there's a little bit of shimmer but it's not noticeable on the face. I do not find the blush shades to be extra unique after trying them out but still, these are very decent blushes for the price you are paying. As you can see from the swatches, these blushes are super pigmented. You might want to apply with a light hand when using these.

These blushes come with blush applicators. I usually like to keep the applicators inside the casing (and use them if the bristles are soft) but I would recommend throwing these out because they have a strong chemical smell. Just use your own blush brush.

For $2, I would say these Daiso blushes are definitely worth a try. They are budget friendly for those unwilling to spend too much money on makeup and those who don't really apply makeup often.

There is a total of 4 shades. There's one in Pink, which is just a very sweet pink shade and another in Brown, a dark brown shade which is more suitable for contouring.

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

I've been really lazy and not been updating. It's about time I get back to my blog.

This is quite an old haul. Picked up these stuff during Watsons members' sale again. I think it was during the Chinese New Year sale.

Picked up Revlon ColorStay Liquid Foundation in 180 Sand Beige. I've been wanting this forever. I just couldn't bring myself to pay full price (S$29.90) for it in Singapore. Also picked up Revlon PhotoReady Stick Concealer in 004 Medium.

Now I only got this because there was 30% discount off. On top of that, I get a free makeup pouch and another Revlon nail polish (yay for freebies). I picked out Revlon Nail Enamel in 907 Steel Her Heart, which is a gunmetal shade.

Also finally got a full sized Mentholatum Acnes Creamy Wash. I did a review for it back here. It's really affordable for an acne cleanser but yet I keep forgetting to pick it whenever I go Watsons, until perhaps the Watsons members' sale. It's always sold out during members' sale so you can imagine how popular it is.

Also decided to try out the Ginvera Green Tea Nude Cover BB Cream. It was going for buy 1 get 1 free so I thought might as well get it. Test it and I find the Ginvera BB cream to be liquidy. It seems more of like a tinted moisturizer than a BB cream (which you would perceive it to have a thicker consistency). The shade is on the beige side but works for me. Would be trying it out longer before doing a review.